It's A Pain will address how we attempt to live with pain of different kinds and how we can seek to overcome its effect on our quality of life.

Organised by Durham University and County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, the talks will look at the anatomy of pain, the discomfort caused by anxiety and depression, drugs and their limitations, the effectiveness of complementary medicine and the role of exercise.

Dr Paul Chazot, from Durham University's Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing, said: “Chronic pain has never been a more relevant topic. About a fifth of the world's population suffer from it.”

The first lecture – How The Brain Is Wired For Pain – is by Dr Michael Lee, at Durham University on October 18. Entry is free and open to the public.